Suppression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell by targeting β-catenin signaling pathway

Aim: To investigate the role of beta-catenin in pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: Cellular proliferation, apoptosis, matrix penetration assay, and western blotting were employed to determine cell biological changes in NPC cell lines transfected with beta-catenin siRNA. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to detect beta-catenin and Ki-67 expression in NPC tissue. Results: beta-Catenin was upregulated in NPC cell lines and tissues compared with chronic nasopharyngitis tissue. beta-Catenin knockdown dramatically inhibited cellular growth, migration and invasion, but induced apoptosis of NPC cells. Further study showed that downstream genes of beta-catenin signaling pathway including cyclin D1, c-Myc, MMP2 and MMP9 expression were suppressed in NPC cell lines transfected with beta-catenin siRNA. Conclusion: Targeting beta- catenin signaling pathway may be a noval strategy for NPC therapy. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.